Mr. Martin Davoren:

I agree with Mr. Smith in that this is a cultural shift. The Bill is a great first step in tackling in a meaningful way Ireland's relationship with alcohol. For a long time price has been shown to have an impact on consumption patterns. In the past 20 years, if the rate of excise duty decreased, the level of consumption increased. The introduction of minimum pricing can drive the issue forward.

Questions arose about the response rate to the survey, at approximately 37%. In surveys such as this which includes adolescents and their parents and in respect of which informed consent was gained it is difficult to achieve very high response rates. As a local electoral area was sampled, however, it is representative of the general population, with an urban-rural mix. It provides a comprehensive overview of alcohol consumption patterns among adolescents and their parents. It also maps nicely into the report of the Health Research Board, with the consumption patterns among parents being similar.